Fractured Fairy Tale

Hansel and GretelPersonal response (Fractured Fairy Tale):

Hansel and Gretal, Red Riding Hood, Rumpelstiltskin, Pied Piper, Snow White, Rapunzel

“Would you check inside the oven, to make sure it’s warm?”
My blood started pounding, as I looked into the witch’s red eyes. I knew exactly what she was planning, and I knew I could not let it happen. Thinking quickly, I made my voice quiver as if I was frightened when I said “I’m not sure how I would fit.” She sneered at me, showing her rotting teeth before climbing inside the oven herself.

“See, you idiotic girl?” She cackled “If I can fit, you-“That’s the last thing I heard before I slammed the door shut. Thank God it was soundproof; I thought to myself, the screaming would have been really annoying. I passively watched her gruesome expressions through the glass door as she burned and melted. Serves you right, Witch.
“Gretel??” I heard a nasally voice call, “what is going on out there? Did you finally figure out how to get me out of here? Gretel? What is taking so long? I wish you were in this cage, I would have killed her ages ago!” What did I ever do to be stuck with this miserable excuse for a brother? Sighing, I looked around the room, and grabbed the key hanging on the wall. After a second, I grabbed the long, curved knife from the table too. Then, I went in the back room where the witch kept Hansel in a cage. When I entered the room, I secretly took a moment to laugh. That witch really fed him a lot, he was huge. He had fat bulging out of his clothes, and he wobbled on his legs when he walked as though they could not support his weight for much longer.

“Gretel are you daft?” He shrieked when he saw me staring, “Let me out already!”
“Fine” I mutter, keeping my head down so he doesn’t see me scowling. I set down the knife and unlock the door, stepping back as he stumbled out. “The witch is dead” I told him.
“Do you think I’m slow? There is no other way you could have freed me. So who did it? Clearly not you, you helpless girl. You couldn’t do something useful if the world depended on it. Was it Mother? Did she regret sending me away? She always said I was her favorite.”
At this, I finally snap. I reach behind me, grab the knife, and lunge. It feels as if I’m moving in slow motion, I can practically hear all the nasty remarks he and mother said behind my back, I could feel their laughter when I tripped over something they put in my way. I feel no regret as I use the knife to cut through the flabby skin around his neck, and watch with mild satisfaction as his head bounces once, twice, three times before stopping on the dirty floor. I wipe the blood off of the knife, and leave the witch’s house, only one thought on my mind. Mother did this. Mother needs to die.

I wander around the forest, wondering how I will find my way back to my house, when I heard a sound behind me. Whirling around, I see only a flash of crimson, and then nothing.
“Who is there?” I call out, proud of how confident I sounded. That confidence faded, however, when I heard the echo of a laugh. Drawing my knife, I shout “Show yourself!” There is a moment of tense silence, and then another laugh, directly behind me. I spin around, and point my knife, trying not to tremble. It is a girl, with dark brown hair and piercing green eyes. She appeared to be about 17, and was carrying only a basket and wearing a bright red cloak
“Put that down, darling” She smirked, “I have no intention to hurt you, but if I did, that puny thing would do nothing.” She set down the basket and took off her cloak, revealing a variety of weapons that I had not noticed at first, ranging from a sword to a crossbow.
“Who are you?” I stammered.
“People call me Red, cause of the cloak. Creative, aren’t they?” Red gave a bitter laugh, before continuing, “But I think you were hoping for more than a name, weren’t you?”
“Why are you in the woods?”
“I’m a Hunter. When I was young, I had a run in with a wolf, and since then, let’s just say I’ve had a bit of a grudge against them. So now, I hunt wolves. Why are you here, child?”
I tell her my story, and about my desire for revenge on my mother. As I speak, Red’s smile grows wider and wider, and after I finish she laughs “I have the perfect idea for how you can get your revenge, and perhaps I can get some too. But first, we need some things. Follow me, I’ll explain along the way.” Shrugging, I follow Red into the woods.
A few hours later, I’m waiting on a hill overlooking a quaint little cottage, waiting for Red to return from her hunt for the wolf. I’m still wary about this plan, it seems crazy, I mean who would want to trap a wolf, but I really do not have any better options. Red interrupts my thoughts when she returns, quickly pulling me behind some bushes. I shiver when I hear a loud, long howl that sounds awfully close. Peeking at the house through the leaves, I watch as a large, shaggy gray wolf goes up to the door, sniffs, and shoves inside.
“Is anyone in there?” I hiss to Red.

“My grandmother,” Is her only reply.
I’m about to ask her more, but I freeze when I hear a loud, terrible scream, followed by snarling and crunching.

“Now there is no one in there” Red says, seeming surprisingly pleased by her grandmother’s death. She must see my confusion, because she explains “She was not a nice woman. She was a baker, but she had a bad habit of poisoning her clients if they ever insulted her. Eventually, I was forced to make all of her deliveries because she couldn’t be trusted not to kill them. I was treated like a slave because she couldn’t control her temper.” I stayed silent, unsure how to respond. She was more like me than I had suspected at first.
“Come on,” She said after a moment, “Let’s continue the plan.” So we went, summoning tears and making ourselves look as innocent as possible, up to the woodcutter that Red had seen earlier.
“Sir! Sir!” I wailed, “Please help! A wolf got our grandmother!”
“Please, Woodcutter! You must help us!” Red sobbed dramatically. The woodcutter did not pause to question us at all before racing in the direction Red pointed. We waited a moment before we stopped crying and followed after him, arriving just in time to hear the loud thump as the woodcutter knocked the wolf out with the blunt end of his ax.
“Didn’t wanna kill him,” He grunted, “A bit messy for indoors. Think someone was in here though, I see some blood. You girls should come with me, I’ll call someone to come kill this beast.”

“No can do, Sir,” Red smiled deceivingly, “We still have so much left to do.” She stared at him for a moment before pulling a long, curved knife out from beneath her cloak. “And I’m afraid we can’t have any witnesses.” The woodcutter had only a moment to register the girl’s words, before she carved out his heart, smiling as she did it. I stepped back from him as he fell to the ground, dead.
“Was that necessary?” I asked her, though in truth, I really did not care.
“Perhaps not, but it was fun” She winked at me, before grabbing the wolf and pulling it.
“Where are we taking it?” I questioned.
“You aren’t taking it anywhere; you’ve got to get started on the next item. I’ll take care of Wolfie here.” She replied.
“What is the next item?”
“A magic flute.”

I grumbled to myself as I wandered through the woods alone. “How am I supposed to find this Pied Piper anyways?” I asked myself, my voice cutting through the eerie silence. “And won’t he just charm me with his flute anyways?”
“Quite right, Dearie” A voice chirps behind me. “You’re smart, but not smart enough. However, perhaps I could help you out.” I whirl around, only to find a small, unpleasant looking man. He was perhaps four feet tall, and his lips were curled down in a never-ending sneer. “I’m Rumpelstiltskin, perhaps you’ve heard of me, and I’d like to make a deal.” I had in fact heard about him, and how he suckered his victims into deals that ended with them losing their souls.

“Not interested.” I said bluntly. “I rather like my soul.”
“Oh, but it’s not your soul I’m after. Don’t be daft, child, you know you can’t resist his magic without me. All I want is for you to save those children that he is luring into the river right now. In return, I’ll protect you from his music and you can have his silly flute.”
“Why would you want the children?” I asked warily.
“They’re dead anyways, why does it matter? No more questions, Dearie. Yes or no.”
“Fine. Deal. I don’t care about children anyways.” He reached out his wrinkled hand and grasped mine. I felt a searing pain travel down my arm, and up my body until it settled in my ears. I gasped as the pain faded into a dull ache.
“I’ll see you again” Rumple said, but I could barely hear him. It felt as though my ears were full of cotton. He disappeared into a puff of purple smoke, and I had the sudden urge to walk west.
After a few minutes of walking, I started hearing faint thumping, as though hundreds of people were marching in synch. I passed over a large hill and tried not to gasp at what I saw. There were at least one hundred children, expressionless, like zombies, following a man. The piper. I rushed forwards, joining the group and trying to match their blank expressions as I discreetly made my way towards the front until I was directly behind the Piper. I could hear a river ahead of us, just over the edge of a cliff. The piper stopped by the very edge, and gestured for us children to walk forward. I walked, slowly, until I was next to him. I looked into his eyes and I didn’t even feel guilty as I quickly kicked his legs out from under him and grabbed the flute from his hands as he collapsed, hitting his head on the stone before tumbling off the edge. I watched as he fell, hands waving around as though he was searching for something to hold on to, something to save him. There was nothing. I heard a smack as he hit the water, and watched as he struggled to resurface. I watched as the water dragged him down into its depths. When he did not surface for a few minutes, I turned, expecting to see children. Instead, I saw nothing. Rumple must have taken them already. I shrugged, placed the flute to my lips, and blew. Out came an awful, screeching sound, so ear-shattering that I dropped the flute to the ground.

“You can’t play it” Red said, appearing behind me like a phantom. “It takes a special touch to play that flute. Don’t feel bad, I can’t do it either.”
“Well, why did we get it if we can’t play it?” I scowled.

“I may know someone who can.” Red replied. “Snow White, perhaps you’ve heard of her. She’s great with music, and animals. If the flute doesn’t work for her, it won’t work for anybody.”
“Well, where do we find her?”
Apparently, the answer to that question involved a whole lot of walking. By the time we arrived, it was dark and I could barely see Red, who was standing right next to me. “We’ll wait for morning, get some rest.” She declared, before lying down in the grass. I quickly followed suit, and was asleep within seconds.

I woke up what felt like mere seconds later, only to find that the sun had already risen. I sat up from where I lay on the grass, running my hands through my tangled mess of hair, attempting to rid it of the dirt and leaves. Looking to my right, I saw a pile of crimson fabric that I assume was Red as she continued to sleep. A quiet snore confirmed my suspicion. I figured it would not hurt to let her sleep some more, so I silently rose and went to look around for the cottage I vaguely remembered seeing the night before.

It didn’t take long to find, but it was not what I was expecting. From the quick glimpse I had the night before, I expected the cottage to be warm and inviting, which it was, when you first looked. But when I looked closer, I started noticing things. All of the windows were drawn closed, even though it was beautifully sunny, and there were no animals in the garden at all. Not even insects. It was completely silent. I was a bit nervous now, and started wondering if I should have woken Red. I consider going back, when I hear a soft weeping coming from inside the house. I walk around to the back, where I see a single window is cracked open. I step closer to it, only to find iron bars. “What is this? Some kind of homey prison?” I whispered to myself.

“Exactly,” I heard from behind me behind me. Before I could turn around, I felt a sharp pain in my head, and then only blackness.

The first thing I became aware of when I regained consciousness was that the crying hadn’t stopped. The second was that I had a pounding headache. With a groan, I rolled over, only to realize that made the pain worse. I sat still, trying to make out where I was.

“Are you okay?” A faint voice asked.
I sat up with a start, forgetting the pain in my head.
“Who’s there?” I croaked, my throat dry. Someone put a cup of water in my hands, which I gulped down greedily. “Who are you?” I repeated.
“My name is Snow. Snow White.” She replied hesitantly. I…. live here.” I finally got a glimpse of her, and understood how she got her name. Her skin was deathly pale, as if she hadn’t been outside in years.
“What happened to me?” I questioned, remembering only finding the window bars.
“One of the dwarves, there are seven of them, found you snooping… He knocked you out and brought you in here. They think it a sport to capture lost young girls from the woods and make them into slaves. I’ve been here for five years, since I ran from my stepmother after she tried to have me killed.”
“We’re stuck here? There must be some way out!” I cried out disbelievingly.
“No way out from the inside unless you have a key, which only the dwarves do, and they’re at the mines right now. This place is practically a prison.” Snow sighed, it was clear she had lost all hope a long time ago. “I suppose at least now I have company.”
“Oh, no you do not!” I said, my voice hardening. “We are getting out of here.”
“And how do you propose we do that?”
“My friend will come. I know she will.” And come she did.
It only took her a few hours, but I still got rather tired of waiting. I had been staring out the barred windows when I saw the telltale flash of color from her hood in the trees.

“Red!” I hissed. “Get over here!
She came out from the forest and stalked over to me angrily.
“What made you think going off without me was a good idea?” She snarled, but listened as I explained our situation. She sighed, before grumbling “Look at the trouble you’ve caused now!”
“At least I found the girl,” I protested, “This is her, right? The one you were talking about? The one who can play the flute?”
“The flute!” Red shouted, “Perfect!” She reached into her cloak and pulled it out, handing it through the bars on the window. “Give this to Snow, tell her to play it for the dwarves when they return and make them release you. It’s the perfect opportunity to find out if she can play it.”
“A flute?” Snow White asked from behind me. I took a moment to explain what she wanted, and Snow grinned. “If you get me out of here, I’ll do whatever you need.” She grabbed the flute, and put it up to her lips before playing it skillfully. The music that poured out was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. I could think of nothing else, immersing myself in the pure joy it brought me. The music stopped abruptly, and I frowned.
“What was that?” I questioned.
“I wanted to see if I could summon the dwarves home. I’d rather not stay here any longer than I have to.” Snow explained.
“Brilliant!” Red called from outside. “I should hide in the woods, I wouldn’t want them to see me if they do come.” She ran off, not waiting for our response.

It was only a few minutes before we heard noise at the door. Snow jumped up, placing the flute at her lips in preparation. The door burst open, and in walked seven dirty, zombie-like dwarves. They had no expression, rendered completely obedient by the flute’s song. I looked over at Snow, slightly alarmed by the evil glint I saw in her eyes. Her tormenters were finally at her mercy. I started to say something, but Snow raised the flute to her lips once more, and again the room was filled with a haunting melody. The dwarves turned around, and exited the house, leaving the door wide open.
“Where are they going?” I asked, though I already suspected I knew the answer.
“They’re going to my mother’s apple orchard. Nobody knows about it, as its hidden deep in this forest so it is relatively unguarded. She created a special apple tree, it grows poisonous apples. They are known for a slow and pain-filled death. The dwarves have suddenly been filled with the desire to go there and feast.” Snow grinned wickedly, before walking out towards Red, leaving me staring after her in admiration.
When I caught up with them, Red had just finished explaining the plan to Snow.
“Everything set?” I asked.
“I believe so,” Red said confidently, “I will go back to the witch’s house that I found you in to retrieve what you wanted, while you and Snow go get your mother. It should not be difficult; Snow can charm her with the flute. I’ll meet you at the tower.” She paused for a minute, before saying “Well what are you waiting for? Go on, we have no time to lose.”
“Alright, we’ll see you soon.” I said, before leading Snow towards my childhood home.

It took about a day’s travel to get back to my old home, and I felt no fear, no guilt, only excitement and a sense of relief that soon the world would be rid of her evil. When we arrived, I led Snow straight up to the front door and knocked forcefully. After a moment, it swung open and I saw a familiar scowling face.
“You have more wrinkles than I remember” Was all I said before I punched her in the face.
“That was not part of the plan,” Snow said, laughing as we continued dragged my mother’s unconscious form deep into the woods. I just shrugged, working hard to conceal my smile. Dragging her may have been less convenient than her walking, but it was so worth it. It only took about an hour to get her to the clearing that Red told me about, and I saw the items I had requested waiting. Just in time, too, because right when we dropped her to the ground, she started to stir.
“Snow, wait in the trees, use your flute to make her unable to move,” I ordered, “but make sure she is cognizant. I want her to hear and understand exactly what I say.”
Snow nodded, before running off into the trees, just as my mother woke.
“Oh.” Was the first thing she said, the scowl that seemed permanently etched into her face deepening. “I had hoped seeing your ugly face was only a bad dream, my nightmare coming back to me.” She looked around for a moment, before asking “Why can’t I move? And where’s your brother?”
“Oh, he is here alright” I said, smirking. “But we’ll get to that. You can’t move because I’m not letting you, because I want you to listen. You see, I brought you here because I’m going to kill you.”
“You won’t kill me, Gretel, you don’t have the spine.” My mother cackled, seeming extremely confident.
“Oh, you don’t think I can kill anyone? Neither did Hansel.”
“Where is he? You said she was here,” Mother said, starting to look alarmed.
“He is. Look around you, Mother. Look at what became of your beloved Hansel.” I gestured around, drawing her attention to the trail of bones I had asked Red to lay out for me, as both a tribute to the breadcrumbs Hansel threw down when we first got lost in the woods, as well as a path to the tower.
Mother let out a choked gasp, and began sobbing. “No, no, not Hansel, no you couldn’t have, no!”
I watched as she sobbed, taking a moment to enjoy her pain, before I stepped back. “I killed him, Mother, and now it’s your turn. There’s a wolf in these woods right now, which hasn’t been fed for days, and he’s got your scent. I left you a handy trail of Hansel to lead you to a place where, perhaps the wolf won’t kill you. Or perhaps I’m lying, but you really have no other choice. Goodbye Mother, I’ll enjoy every minute of this.” And with that I whirled around, and walked into the dense trees with Snow. “Let her go” I whispered, and Snow played a quick tune that allowed her to move, and Mother only hesitated for a moment before following the trail of bones, looking slightly nauseous and thoroughly terrified the whole time.

Snow and I followed her, Snow replicating a wolf’s howl once in a while to make Mother scream and hurry when we thought she was too slow. We soon arrived at the cave entrance, and Mother hesitated once more before entering. We followed silently, like shadows, into the cave which soon opened into a clearing, with a single, tall tower in the center. No doors, no clear way up, and a single, closed window at the top.
“It’s Rapunzel’s old tower.” Red whispered, appearing behind me as though she was a phantom.
“Stop doing that!” I hissed, clutching my now racing heart.
“Where is Rapunzel, then?” Snow asked.
“Oh, I killed her a few years ago,” Red said, “We had a rather nasty argument one day when I climbed her tower to hide from a particularly difficult wolf. Apparently I interrupted her and this prince who claimed he loved her. Well, after he saw me he forgot all about her. I mean, come on. Pitiful girl stuck in a tower forever, or hot werewolf hunter? He was a jerk though, so I just pushed him right out. I thought Rapunzel would be happy, I mean, he abandoned her, but she thought I was a witch. She claimed I put a spell on him, so I cut off her hair and strangled her with it. The point is, the tower is abandoned now.” I just stared at her for a moment, opening my mouth to respond but before I could, Mother drew my attention. She apparently caught on to the fact that she was now trapped in a clearing with a rabid wolf, and had started trying to climb the tower. It was a very amusing sight, really. She kept slipping, but eventually she made it to the top. I could see the horror in her expression when she realized it was locked, but she didn’t give up. She started pounding on it, struggling to hold on to the tower while grabbing at the window handle. She finally got it open, and I heard her cry of delight, and I relished the strangled scream that came out when she saw what I had set up for her. It was Hansel’s head, displayed right in the middle of the room for her to see, if she got as far as the window.

“I did tell her that he was here” I chuckled darkly, watching as she lost her grip on the window ledge in her distress, and went plummeting to the ground below. Time went in slow motion as she reached for anything to save her, grasping only air.
“Goodbye, Mother.” I whispered softly, and she hit the ground with a bone shattering thump. I watched the wolf lunge, and I watched as it consumed her. I could only smile as I heard the sounds of it feasting, and I only turned away when I was sure she was completely gone.
“What now?” I asked Red, “We did it, but what now?”
“Well….” Snow interrupted, grinning and holding up her knife, “Maybe you two could help me take back my kingdom?”